For the second year in a row, Rhode Island School of Design
is arming each of its 661 graduates with an Artrepreneur
Kit,
a practical parting gift to help students explore entrepreneurial possibilities
after graduation and beyond.

The kit includes a number of
tools to help artists
and designers present their portfolios, take credit card payments and
market their work online – for example, a card reader made by Square, Inc. that
plugs into a mobile phone and allows users to process credit card payments
anywhere. Other goodies include a free trial with Behance’s new online
portfolio site Prosite, an Action Journal and a discount with the file transfer
site YouSendIt.

As part of the kit, the craft
marketplace Etsy is awarding the first-ever
Etsy RISD Fellowship to the 2011 graduate whose shop on the recently
launched RISD
Team Page shows the most promise. The winner will receive a $1,500
grant to attend an Etsy-sponsored summit on small business and sustainability,
to be held in September in Berlin, Germany.

In addition
to these gifts for graduates,
RISD helps students to build a solid foundation for career preparation,
financial literacy and market savvy through the Career Center and Office of Student Life.
“We have been working diligently to create valuable opportunities for students
to get both real-world and experiential career preparation,” notes Raj Bellani, RISD’s associate provost
for Student Affairs.

Mini-courses
on Finance for Artists and a series on social enterprise offered by
Social Venture Partners Rhode Island (SVPRI) are among the offerings. RISD has also been working with Etsy and Kickstarter to launch online networks that offer
students and alumni promising platforms for developing their work and building
new businesses.

“With our Artrepreneur Kit, we are providing new grads with just a few of the
online tools and resources that can help launch their work in the public
spectrum,” notes President John Maeda.
“It’s just one way to help them make a living in whatever way they choose.”